Heart Flutter

Chapter 12

It was five-thirty in the morning when Tang Yan’s phone alarm rang. In the stillness of the apartment, it sounded especially piercing. Half-asleep, she reached out to grab her phone, squinting at the time. The bright screen hurt her eyes. It was still so early. After turning off the alarm, she lay back down and went to sleep again.

She had a dream after falling back asleep.

In the dream, Aunt Ji’s friend—who was about to arrive—turned out to be a very beautiful woman. She spoke the local dialect fluently and radiated elegance in her every gesture. Aunt Ji introduced Tang Yan as a friend’s child who had left her hometown for school and was temporarily staying here. Then she introduced the woman to Tang Yan, saying, “Yanyan, this is my girlfriend. We are in a romantic relationship.”

Tang Yan jolted awake in fright. She sat up, clutching the thin blanket in both hands, gasping for breath. She could not fathom why she would have such a dream. It felt startlingly real, like something that had actually happened. She grabbed her phone from the bedside, which showed seven o’clock. She raised her hand to smooth her hair back from her forehead, then got out of bed and slipped on her slippers.

Standing at the bathroom sink, Tang Yan brushed her teeth with her hair still a mess. Halfway through, she paused, glanced at herself in the mirror, her mouth foaming, her face unadorned—so plain. Then she continued brushing, finished washing her face, and completed her routine in one go.

When she came out of the bathroom, she heard some movement in the living room and glanced over instinctively. It seemed Aunt Ji was already up and was busy making breakfast. She stood by the stove, frying eggs in a pan with single-minded concentration. Her figure was graceful, with smooth, shapely curves. From Tang Yan’s perspective, most women in their thirties hardly seemed to have such figures anymore, and many never bothered to dress themselves up, but Aunt Ji was different.

“Good morning, Aunt Ji,” Tang Yan greeted, her voice loud at first, then trailing off.

Ji Yuqing caught sight of her and smiled slightly. “Good morning, Yanyan.”

She tilted the pan, flipped the eggs to the other side, and asked, “Why did you get up so early on your day off? Did you not want to sleep a bit longer?”

Tang Yan scratched her head and answered softly, “I could not fall back asleep…”

She certainly could not tell Aunt Ji she had been awakened by a nightmare—especially that kind of dream. Just recalling it felt strange. Two women together as a couple, would that not be a same-sex relationship?

“Breakfast will be ready soon,” said Aunt Ji. “You can go do something else for a bit.”

“Alright…” Tang Yan was about to head back to her room when she heard the doorbell. She froze on the spot.

Ji Yuqing seemed a little surprised too. She quickly turned off the stove, wiped her hands, and walked out from behind the cooking area, muttering, “Could she really be here this early?”

Tang Yan felt her heart inexplicably begin to pound. She stiffened, unable to move, as if her feet were planted in concrete.

Opening the door, Ji Yuqing exclaimed in surprise, clearly pleased. “Miya, you came so early! Have you had breakfast?”

Tang Yan stiffened again. It really was Aunt Ji’s friend. She suddenly worried that her dream might come true. She turned her head a little, though she could only hear the voices at this point.

“And little Doudou, have you had your breakfast?” came Aunt Ji’s cheerful tone.

Tang Yan wondered if there were possibly two people out there. Just then, a woman holding a baby entered from the entryway, following Aunt Ji into the apartment. Tang Yan remained standing in the living room, nearly turned to stone.

“Yanyan,” said Aunt Ji, “let me introduce you: this is your Aunt Zhang, and that is her baby, nicknamed Doudou.”

Tang Yan felt entirely perplexed, like her thoughts were spinning out of control. She needed to clear her head.

“So this is the girl you mentioned,” said Zhang Miya to Ji Yuqing. “She looks quite nice.”

“Hello, Aunt Zhang,” Tang Yan said politely, standing straight like a schoolkid at a flag-raising ceremony.

“Come, Doudou, say hi to your big sister,” Zhang Miya said, stepping closer with the child. The baby waved both little hands, laughing happily.

“The last time I saw her, she was not this big,” commented Ji Yuqing with a slightly puzzled look.

“Children change day by day,” answered Zhang Miya.

“Yanyan, keep Aunt Zhang company for a moment while I finish breakfast,” said Ji Yuqing.

“Okay!” Tang Yan blurted out.

Aunt Zhang looked almost exactly as she had appeared in Tang Yan’s dream—elegant, stylish, fluent in the local dialect. But in reality, she was already married and had a child. Tang Yan felt both relieved and embarrassed at once. She had almost convinced herself the dream was coming true, and now she felt foolish.

“You are Tang Yan, right?” asked Zhang Miya, gently bouncing the baby in her arms. Tang Yan sat on the couch, maintaining some distance. “Yes, Aunt Zhang,” she murmured, still not quite able to meet the woman’s eyes.

“Your Aunt Ji mentioned you before,” said Zhang Miya. “She told me there was a kid from the southwest who came to Hua City for school and needed a place to stay. She also mentioned how much she liked you, that you were very studious.”

“She… really said that?” Tang Yan felt excitement bubble up. She had not realized she held such a good impression in Aunt Ji’s mind.

“Yes. I remember thinking, who could that be? I never expected it would be Tang Huiyi’s daughter,” said Zhang Miya, then paused suddenly, as if realizing she had said too much.

At the open-style kitchen, Ji Yuqing gave her a subtle look, hinting at what should and should not be mentioned.

“Aunt Zhang, you know my mother?” Tang Yan asked out of curiosity.

“Yes, well, back then I also attended Hua City University, though I was in a different department from Yuqing,” answered Zhang Miya. “But I remember Yuqing telling me about a very accomplished senior in her department who got a full scholarship every year. So I guessed her daughter must be exceptional too, and here you are.”

Tang Yan bit her lip, sensing there was some piece of information everyone knew that she did not, but she was reluctant to ask.

Worried the girl might get lost in her thoughts, Zhang Miya changed the subject. “By the way, I do not think I know your major yet. Would you mind telling me?”

“Computer science,” Tang Yan replied.

At that moment, from her place in the kitchen, Ji Yuqing chimed in with a laugh, “Yanyan, Aunt Zhang’s husband is an IT guru, you know.”

“Guru might be a bit of an exaggeration,” said Zhang Miya, laughing modestly. She turned to Tang Yan. “But if you have time, I can introduce you to him. He has some decent connections in the industry and might be able to help you in the future.”

Tang Yan nodded, never imagining that Aunt Zhang’s husband was the chief technology officer of a well-known tech company who stayed so humble about it.

“By the way,” continued Aunt Zhang, “I did not bring specific gifts for you two, but I have a necklace for each of you. My husband picked them up on his recent business trip to Rome. Yuqing, come here and take a look.”

Washing the grease from her hands, Ji Yuqing wiped them dry and came over. The necklaces had a kind of mother-and-child pendant design—one slightly larger, one smaller. Both featured an adorable little dolphin in sterling silver with a small blue gemstone set at its mouth. They looked exquisite yet not overly flashy.

“I was thinking that since you two would be living together for a while, it would be nice if you got along peacefully,” said Aunt Zhang. “Originally, my husband bought these as a mother-daughter set for me and my daughter, but I feel it suits the two of you better right now.”

Taking one necklace from her friend, Ji Yuqing could not help smiling wryly. “So now we actually look like mother and daughter.”

Tang Yan also accepted the smaller necklace and held it in her palm to admire it. The little dolphin was adorable and so lifelike.

“I hope you two will become even closer than a mother and daughter. That is my sincere wish,” said Aunt Zhang, smiling.

“Then I will accept your kind blessing,” said Ji Yuqing.

“Thank you, Aunt Zhang,” Tang Yan murmured.

“I will help you put it on,” offered Ji Yuqing.

Because she had just washed her hands, her fingers felt cool against Tang Yan’s neck. The cold touch made Tang Yan shiver, as if a jolt of electricity had coursed through her.

“All done,” said Ji Yuqing, letting go.

The warmth of her presence seemed to withdraw at the same moment. Tang Yan instinctively raised a hand to the necklace at her throat, thinking that she never wanted to remove it.

“It looks beautiful on you. I really made a good choice,” said Aunt Zhang with a grin.

“Turn around so I can see,” came Aunt Ji’s gentle voice from behind.

Tang Yan turned slowly to face her, meeting Aunt Ji’s enthusiastic gaze. She ducked her head at once, not daring to look directly at her.

“It really does look nice,” said Ji Yuqing.

In the next instant, she placed a hand on Tang Yan’s shoulder, drawing her closer so they both faced Aunt Zhang. “Do we not look like mother and daughter?”

“Exactly like it!” Aunt Zhang exclaimed, clapping her hands in delight.

Yet Tang Yan felt a strange discomfort, an inexplicable reluctance to be regarded as mother and daughter with Aunt Ji. Even if others said they looked alike, she did not want it to be so. A vague feeling rose in her heart, telling her she did not wish for that at all.